Refrigerator car



June 6, 1944. G. G. GILPIN REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed June 30,' 1943 2 Sheets-Sheetl G. G. GILPIN REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed June 30, 1943 June 6, 944.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Patented June 6, 1944 UNITED- srArEs PAT-ENT" oir-FICE by mesne assignments, 'to' Standard Railway 'Equipment Manufacturing@"Company, a corporation of Applicationlri-.n'e so, 194s, serial No. 492,955 7 2 claims; (c1. @2 17 This invention relates to refrigerator"l cars used to transport perishable commodities at a predetermined temperature. The essential fea-` tures of such a car are an insulated body to retard or preventingress of heat during warm weather and egress of heat during,` cold weather, and a cooling means and a heating means to be used during warm and. cold weather respectively. -The invention relates to. such refrigerator cars, but particularly to those wherein the` cooling means is disposed immediately below the carroof within a cooling chamber separated from they other parts of the car save for an air inlet-.andan air outlet. The lading is supported below the cooling chamber in spaced relation to the floor by a foraminous floor rack. Flues, preferably associated with the side walls of the car, communicate between the cooling chamber and the space under thev floor rack to provide a .path for the circulation of air. The path is `from the cooling chamber downwardly through the aforementionedA ilues, through theA space under the floor rack, upwardly through the lading lcompartment thereby cooling ,the lading,

,andfnally to the cooling compartment, whereupon the `cycle is completed.

' "With the increase in speed of freight trains it has been found that refrigerator cars do not have to be iced so` heavily as formerly with the slower moving trains, and thus the number of .refrigerant containers may be reduced.

It is an object of vmy present invention to provide such. an overhead bunker typejcar having fewer refrigerant containers, thereby increasing the economy of refrigerating such cars,

as Well asreducing the construction cost vof such cars.

Another object of the invention is to provide a circulating path for the air so that all the air from vthe lading compartment is forcedA to contact therefrigerant.

Other objects and advantages of the invention kwill appear in the following description thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view, one-half of which is of the roof of a refrigerator car and the other half is of said car with the roof removed and showing in plan the refrigerant tanks and baffles.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of a refrigerator car embodying the invention taken through a pair of hatches.

In the form of the invention illustrated one or more refrigerant containers 2 are preferably positioned on each side of the center line of a car adjacent the roof 3 thereof and also preferably adjacent the side walls 4 of the car. Hatchways S'are provided through. the roof3 abovethe containers.' 2` for loading said containers with ice or the like. The hatchways -are provided withthe usual hatch 4plug or lid,- not shown for closing'the hatchways. Longitudinal lpartitions G Yextendfrom. end to end of the car, onein spaced relation to each side wall 4, and is secured in 4position by being attachedto spacedvertical posts l. Metallic, or other suitable sheets 8, having Vertical panels 9 pressed therein are :also attached-to said. posts between saidposts and lsaid .partitions 6, the spaces be tween the panels 9 and partition ii forming spaced vertical fines Ill` extending from adjacent the top of the car to the bottom thereof. A drip pan II is providedirnmediately `below said container 2 but spaced therefrom to form a duct i2 vwhich declines toward and communicates with the upper end of the vertical flue I. From the inner margin or edge of each ofv said drip pans Ii there extends upwardly to thel car ceiling a partition or member I3, saidmembers i 3 being spaced fromA each other to form a passageway I4* therebetween. Longitudinally spaced transverse vcarlines extend from side to side of the car and the partitions I3 and drip pans II are secured theretov in any desired manner as, for example, by the Z-bars I5. The partitions I3 extend parallel with the side walls of the car lslightly beyond the ends of thet containers, from which point they are inclined as at I6 to the partition 6, thusenclosing each container. Openings are provided through the portions I3 of the partitions so thatl air rising from the lading compartment I1 of the car upwardly through the .passageway I 4 may pass only through saidopeninga as y indicated bythe arrows, Fig, 3, into the duct I2, thence downwardly through the ues 6, to the bottom of the lading compartment.

It is expected that two containers! adjacent each end of the car will suffice to provide all the cooling necessary for refrigerated express service. Consequently, all the air rising from the lading compartment will have to pass through the openings I3 in order to be cooled by the refrigerant in the containers, when said air will fan out due to the diverging walls I6,

with which space the fiues I0 communicate, so

that air descending through said flues enters said space 20, passes upwardly -through the foram inous floor and lading compartment'through the f passageways I4 into the ductsv I2 and repeats the Y cycle.

To assist the air in fanning out distributively to the side flues,r shorter diverging baies 2| mayV be provided for such purpose. A n

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention vis not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious-that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art. i y

I'clairn: 1- l l. VAn air cooling system for arailway car having Aa plurality of vertical ilues in one of said walls, and a lading compartment, said system comprising `a refrigerant container above the lading compartment and adjacent one of said walls,l a structure partially surrounding Vthe containerforming an air cooling chamber having an air inletjcommunicating4 with said lading compartment, y'an air outlet communicating with said ilues,ysaid inlet being at a higher elevation than saidoutlet for convective air'circulation, the ends of said structure diverging from adjacent said inlet to said side wall nues so that circulating air is discharged into the ues adjacent the container and also flues beyond the container. `2.An air cooling system for a railway car having'a roof, a hatch'in said' roof, spaced carlines supportedfbyjopposite Walls of the car, a plu' rality :of'vertical ilues in one of said walls, and a lading. compartment, said `system y comprising a refrigerant container supported by said carlines below the hatch 'and adjacentone of saidV walls,

a ,structure partially surrounding the container y forming an air cooling 'chamber' having an air inlet communicating with said lading compart mentyanair outlet communicating'with said fiues, said inlet being at a higher elevation than Vsaid outlet for convective air circulation, the ends of ysaid structure diverging from adj acentsaid intake to said'side wall flues so that, circulating air isv discharged' into the ilues' adjacent the container and also fiues beyond the container.

3. An| air cooling system for arailway car havinga roof,a hatchinsaidroof, spaced carlines supported by opposite Walls of the car, Ya plurality of vertical liuesin one o frsaid walls, and a-lading compartment, said; system comprising a refrigsaid outlet.

erant container supported by said carlines below the hatch and adjacent one of said walls, a structure partially surrounding the container forming an air cooling chamber having an air inlet communicating with saidjlading compartment, an air outlet communicating with said ues, said inlet Abeing at a higher elevation than said outlet for 'convective air circulation,Y the ends of said structure 'diverging from adjacent saidintake to said side wall flues so that circulating air is discharged into the flues adjacent the container and also flues beyond the container, and partitions within said air cooling chamber to direct some of "said" circulating-air into the ilues adjacent the fcont'ainer and' other portions of said air into the nues remote from the container.

4. A structure as defined in claim 3 wherein -said ends and said partitions are positioned to substantially equally proportion said intakes and said outlets.

5. In combination with the roof and walls of a refrigerator car; la refrigerant container in the upper part ofthe car, means providingan air ue associated with a wall of-said car, an enclosing structure for said container formingan air cooling chamber thereabout, said chamber having an air inlet communicatingwith the interior of said car, an air outletfcommunicating with said flue means, the ends of said structure diverging from the ends of said inlet totheends of said Outlet. f .;,l ,.j .i

6. In combination with the roof and -walls of a refrigerator car; spaced refrigerant containers in the upper part of-the car, ue means associated with'a wall of said car, an enclosing structure for said containers-forming an air cooling chamber thereabout and comprising a bottom andv spaced apart ends extending from said bottom `to the car roof, said chamber having an air inlet'- adjacent one side.of said container communicating with the interior of said car, an air outlet adjacent the other side of said container communicating with said ilue means, the ends of said structure diverging from the ends of said inlet to the ends of 7. In combination with the roof and walls of a refrigerator car; longitudinally spaced refrigerl ant containers in the upper part of said car,'flue means associated witha wall of 'said car, an en'- closing lstructure for said containers forming an air cooling chamber thereabout and comprising a bottom andfspaced apart vendsv lextending from said bottom-tothe car roof,-said chamber having an air inlet adjacentoneside of said container of approximately Vthe same length as saidcontainer Yand communicating with the interior of said car,

an air outlet adjacent the other side of said con# tainer extending Ybeyond the ends of said container and communicating with said'fiue means, the yendsfof said structurey diverging from'the ends of said inlet to the ven dsof saidoutlesaid outlets being contiguous at -said ilue means. 

